Page 117 of Stardusted

I could see him studying me, still wearing a tiny smile. “No, I guess I can’t. No robot form, for the record.”

“I know thatnow.”I ate a piece of shrimp, sliding him an expectant look. “You were telling me about space.”

“I was. You’re right.” His eyes went hazy. Faraway. “I don’t know how to describe it, really. When you’re born there, it’s just a…fact of life. Like dry land is for you.” He swirled a finger, encompassing the room, then leaned forward and grabbed one of the white takeout boxes. “But sometimes, when youdoremember or think about it too deeply…” He looked down at the food he held, brow furrowing. “It makes you feel small. Like you’re a single grain in something vast and unknowable.”

He blinked slowly and raised his head, gaze finding mine.

“It’s the same feeling I imagine you get when you look up at the stars. Justmagnified. There’s something about being among them, standing at the edge of that kind of vastness, that changes you. It reminds you that you’re part of something much bigger.” He set the box down again without opening it and folded his hands loosely in his lap. “Which I am. This whole mission…it’s part of something greater, Rae.”

I stared at him. That was more profound than I’d expected. Much deeper.

A reminder, too.

About who andwhatwas sitting here beside me, sharing greasy takeout food and slurping drinks like he didn’t understand straws. It was hard to ignore when he spoke likethat.

Feeling suddenly vulnerable and more than a little overwhelmed, I looked away.

Hewaspart of something greater. Now so was I. And in a way that wasn’t exactly safe.

Suddenly not hungry, I jabbed my chopsticks into my rice. “You really can’t tell me what your mission is, can you?”

A beat passed. I set the box back on the table. In the silence, a gust of wind rattled the side of the garage, splattering raindrops against the windowpanes.

When Sky answered, it was with a quiet sort of finality. “No. I would tell you if I could. It’d help you understand.”

“But you can’t. Because of your Creed.”

“Right.”

I frowned and bit the inside of my lip. “Whatisit? The Creed, I mean. Some kind of blood oath or…?”

He laughed. “No, nothing quite so barbaric.” His appetite didn’t appear to be affected. He gave his attention to his food, digging in with his chopsticks. He was shockingly efficient withthem. “It is one of our ultimate laws, though. Think of it as a collection of the standards Pladians hold themselves to. My race is very…” He brandished the chopsticks, searching for the word. “I guess you’d say straitlaced.”

Straitlaced. Well, that certainly explained a lot.

Although he hadn’t exactly seemed straitlaced when he’d had his tongue in my mouth earlier.

I shifted uncomfortably, watching as he wrangled a single noodle with his utensils. “You’re good with those.”

He glanced up, following my gaze. “Oh. Yeah. I spent a couple years in Asia.”

I sat up straighter, nearly dropping my shrimp fried rice. Duh. I hadn’t evenconsideredthat—all the things he’d seen, the places he’d been. He’d only been in this city for two years. He’d been on thisplanetfor a decade, searching for his tablet.

It still blew my mind it’d ended up inOne Willow,of all places.

“Searching for the halix?” I asked, examining him closer. “Where did your ancestors originally leave it?”

He halted in his chewing and slid a glance my way, hesitating. Like he was trying to decide if answering violated anything. Apparently not because he went back to eating. “The Middle East.”

That made sense. The cradle of civilization. Those markings had looked close to Sumerian cuneiform, one of the earliest forms of writing.

The implications of Pladian presence at the dawn of humanity were still…staggering.

Hell,Sky’spresence was.

Despite my roiling stomach, I picked up my food and forced down another bite without tasting it. My emotions were a mess tonight. I was full to the brim, and they’d begun to spill out in ways I didn’t intend.

“That brings us full circle,” Sky said, lowering whatever he’d dug into after polishing off the chow mein. “Until we know what the halix did to you, I’d like to stay close. If you’ll let me.”